Add your feedback on energy supplier White Rose Energy

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Phil_754 wrote: »

Hi Hengus, My previous experience must be "unusual"
Certainly my last two suppliers - Eon and Ovo - allowed me to access my account history long after the switch had been completed.As the company I am switching to this time has a very poor customer service rating, I was hoping to be able to monitor the switch by accessing my White Rose Account. As it is, I shall probably phone them every few days to see how things are going from their end.

Notwithstanding the above, I do think that gaining suppliers could, and should, do more to notify customers when the transfer to them has actually taken place given that it can take some weeks for an online account to be set up with the verified meter readings.

tloda

You have 3tariffs for both gas and elec and options to be fixed or not. I obviously went cheapest and fixed which worked out cheaper than quote on your site by 3pound a month every little helps.
I'll keep you posted as to the transition period and so on, my welcome pack on website sounds promising, so far so good.

Raps_2

Their "Summer Holiday" tariff which came up as the cheapest fix for me via the CEC is unavailable to switch to once you arrive at their website. Speaking to Chloe on their helpdesk (5 min wait) who is letting me know whether I qualify for the deal. Let's hope she calls me back as promised...

PixelPound

Raps wrote: »

Their "Summer Holiday" tariff which came up as the cheapest fix for me via the CEC is unavailable to switch to once you arrive at their website. Speaking to Chloe on their helpdesk (5 min wait) who is letting me know whether I qualify for the deal. Let's hope she calls me back as promised...

They had a website issue on 20th from their website provider, so probably why you had a problem. It;s noted on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/WhiteRoseEnergy

Should be able to get a quote now

Catsmum_2

Nic,


That's all very well for them. There are some people in the world who don't "get" social media. I'm one of those, so by all means put things on Facebook, but if it's important, put it elsewhere, too.

PixelPound

Catsmum wrote: »

Nic,


That's all very well for them. There are some people in the world who don't "get" social media. I'm one of those, so by all means put things on Facebook, but if it's important, put it elsewhere, too.

True, they may have done, I don't know. I was just adding information - would hate for someone to believe they can't get the tariff when it was a tech glitch and they could see if they qualify and then decide what's best

PixelPound

Well I've initiated the switch and gone for the Summer Holiday tariff, and will let you know how it goes.

Starting the switch takes some reading - they promoted their cheapest tariff, and according to MSE CEC it is the cheapest fix for my circumstances ( a couple of small suppliers variable tariffs were a pound cheaper, but I prefer fixed), when you click on the website to initiate the switch (after you have had a quote for your chosen tariff) they show you all their available tariffs what each will cost based on your stated usage and how that compares to your current tariff. This is all good as you get full information before going ahead with the switch, but as they are a not-for-profit organisation aimed at helping the less well off (such as those on prepay or elderly/vulnerable) I can see less technical savvy people either being put off or possibly selecting wrong tariff.

My switch day is 21 days away, bog standard as expected, and my end date of the fix is 1 year (well 364 days) from when I am due to start. Which is a pleasant surprise (my current supplier Tonik state the end date of any fix is based on when you request the switch, not when your supply starts so you get less than the full length of the fix) so I should get a full year, unless any cheaper tariffs come along.

PocketDemon

Whilst transferring & the first 6 months were fine, there's then been major problems with them neither understanding how monthly direct debits (DDs) work with averaging over a year... nor that when a supplier significantly increases prices people will switch, so reworking the DD amount is foolish.


So I'm on a (slightly over) 1 year deal ending in mid-September - so, quite naturally, paying an average monthly amount then I will become in debit over the winter & get back in credit by the end of the 12 months // whereas someone joining in, say, March, would probably have a month or so of being slightly in debit & then would be increasingly in credit - & then this will reduce down to nothing over the winter months...

…& stuff averages out between customers.

Plus, naturally, by having usage figures from Aug/Sept onwards then they can clearly see that my gas usage is almost entirely seasonal - whereas my electricity usage only slightly increased heading into the winter.


6 months in however, White Rose, unlike every other supplier I've had, suddenly decide that I need to be paying an extra £40 (~37.5% more) a month as I'm in debit - so a major email argument ensues where I have to explain to them how average monthly DDs work; run through the figures for the year showing that I will be at least £100 in credit at the end of the contract based on my usage (I over estimate a bit); & have to threaten to cancel the DD entirely & go to Ofgem...

…& finally they back down - though the guy still insists that I will owe them loads of money at the end.


So, move on to last weekend & it's meter reading time (as others have noted, they can't read smart meters) - & it's clear that my next DD will put me about £30 or so in credit (& then increasingly so for the last couple), so send them a message via their webform asking to reduce my DD for the last couple of months - since, as predicted in Feb, I would otherwise end up >£100 in credit...

...AND that I'll won't be staying with them beyond the current deal/contract ending since they're no longer competitive for my usage.

Instead, I get an email telling me that, again, they're going to put the DD up by £40 - only this time it's because 'if' I stayed with them for 12 months & didn't choose the cheapest deal then that's what I'd have to pay to average it out.


So atm there's still no resolution from them - so whether I'll be cancelling my DD next Friday with my bank & going to Ofgem or not I don't know...

...but this utter nonsense from them has been a significant waste of my time.